Yolanda Rosa Monge Betancourt (born September 16, 1955), known professionally as Yolandita Monge, is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, and television personality. She has been active in the music business since her teen years and has recorded 27 studio albums and two live albums, as well as several greatest hits compilations and special appearance recordings.
Biography
Early life and family Monge was born in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico on September 16, 1955, is the daughter of Iris Delia Betancourt and Héctor Monge. She lived the first seven years of her life in New York City and then came back to Puerto Rico. During the early 70s, she met Alfredo Lorenzo, in New York, and married him on November 13, 1975. They had a daughter, Noelia, but the marriage ended soon afterwards. In 1983, she married Venezuelan singer Balbino, whom she met in Buga, Colombia, and is the father of second daughter Paola González. A few years later, the couple filed for divorce. On December 31, 1989, Yolandita married her manager Carlos "Topy" Mamery and in 1991 gave birth to her only son Imanol Mamery.
Early career
Blessed with a powerful and versatile vocal range and timbre, Monge started out her career by winning a singing radio contest in 1966 (at the age of eleven).
Yolandita was discovered by the producer Julio Alers, and later on, made her TV debut on Luis Vigoreaux's show, Luis Vigoreaux Presenta. She had a regular section in that show. In 1968, she signed with record label Patty Records, which released her first album, named Puerto Rico's Poignant... Powerful... Incomparable....
It was "El Estornudo" ("The Sneeze"), and her cover of Italian hit "Vida"' ("Life"), that made her a national star after she released her first album. At that young age, Yolandita would perform with legendary Argentinian singer Libertad Lamarque and then sing at the Festival De La Canción Nueva York (New York Song Festival). Soon, she found another job on TV, this time on Tommy Muñiz's show, El Show Del Mediodía.
She followed up with some other hits in Puerto Rico, but then she moved to Mexico, where she signed with Teca Records and had hits such as "Vete de Aqui" ("Get Out of Here"), "Dos Caminos Diferentes" ("Two Different Ways"), "¿Por qué, Papá?" ("Why, Dad?") and "La Voz Del Silencio" ("The Voice of Silence").
International breakthrough
1975 was a big year for Monge because she released a song named "Cierra Los Ojos" ("Close Your Eyes"), which was a hit in such South American countries as Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Argentina, and also in the Dominican Republic. Yolandita was now an international star.
Soon after, she would be signed by Coco Records of New York, and her career kept going on a steady rise internationally. She sang at the Carnegie Hall and was backed up by her artistic godmother, legendary Argentinian singer and actress, Libertad Lamarque.
International success: 1980s
In 1980, international label CBS Records International, (now Sony Discos), signed her up into their line-up. Tanto Amor (So much love) composed by Lou Briel, was the first hit song of that album named Fantasia produced by Pepe Luis Soto. She then released another album Historia de Amour which included many top hits. In 1983, she won the Buga Festival, in Buga, Colombia with a song that she wrote her self called Sí (Yes). Her next release in 1983, Sueños, continued her ascent as one of the most important and best selling female singers in Puerto Rico. This album marked a radical change in sound and image for Monge, moving towards the Latin pop tendencies of the time while keeping her interpretative delivery.
Monge continued her winning stride in the middle 1980s, when she released what possibly is one of her greatest album ever: Luz de Luna (Moonlight). This album included her classics "Te Veo Pasar" (I See You Walk By), "Señor Del Pasado" (Man from the Past), and "El Poder del Amor", which was a cover of the popular song "The Power of Love" (most recently recorded by Céline Dion). With this album, she became the first Puerto Rican female singer to earn a gold record.
She followed up that album with the equally successful Laberinto de Amor (Labyrinth of Love), which earned her another gold album and later went platinum. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, years before the Latin Grammy was created. In this album, she sang a Spanish version of "On My Own" ("Solo Yo") which is a song from the soundtrack of the famous Broadway musical Les Misérables. Yolandita was a household name. This album earned her a Grammy nomination in the Best Latin Pop artist category. With this nomination she became the first Puerto Rican female singer to be nominated to the Grammy Music Awards, joined by fellow Puerto Rican singer Lunna, as well in the same category. The album also went gold in many countries including the United States.
In 1988, she achieved multi platinum level sales with her album, Vivencias. Yolandita considers this album the best and most important album of her career. This release included such songs as: "Acariciame" ("Caress Me") and "Este Amor Que Hay Que Callar" ("This Love That We Must Keep Quiet") composed for her by the Spanish singer and author Braulio. She became the first Puerto Rican singer to win a gold album record, a platinum record and a double platinum.
Yolandita was claimed by the America's music magazine Billboard in 1988 as "The best-selling Latin artist of the year" due to being the first Puerto Rican female artist to sell millions of records. She also was claimed by the international music press as "The most important Latin singer of the decade" (1980–1990). NBC traveled all the way to Puerto Rico to interview Yolandita because they consider her the most relevant artist of the Latin music industry and she was even compared with Madonna. In the interview the reporter said: "Yolandita has no plans to make the crossover, so Madonna can relax."
Yolandita in the 1990s
After the huge success of Vivencias, she changed gears in terms of music style and released Portfolio in the summer of 1990, with the help of Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner which was one of the producers and songwriters. With Portfolio, she performed nine sold-out concerts at Puerto Rico's Centro de Bellas Artes (making a new record on sales), and at the Madison Square Garden. During her performances at the Centro de Bellas Artes, Yolandita became the first Latin performer, and one of the earliest recording artists, to use a wireless headset microphone, allowing her to dance while she sang.
After more than ten years at Sony Latin, Yolandita signed a multimillion-dollar recording contract with WEA-Latina, the first for a female pop artist in Puerto Rico. The first release was Cara de Ángel, the follow-up to Portfolio. It contains the radio hits "Sobreviviré", "Viviré Sin Tí", and "Entrega Total". In May 1992, for the "Cara de Angel Tour", Yolandita established a new record at the Performing Arts Center of Puerto Rico (Centro de Bellas Artes), becoming the biggest singer selling out all the concerts, without courtesy tickets, up to 12 concerts of the same tour, breaking her own record. Also in 1992, Yolandita was invited by Spanish Tenor, Plácido Domingo, to be part of a Special Tribute to the artist Goya, the tribute was a special-release album. Yolandita also released her first Christmas album in 1992 titled Mi Mejor Regalo.
In 1994, she became the first Puerto Rican female to land a commercial deal with Pepe Jeans London and also for Diet Pepsi. During that year, Monge released Fiebre de Luna, along with a change of image. The hit album included compositions from Las Diego and produced the hit singles "A Pesar del Tiempo" and "Como Puedes". She teamed with singer Ricardo Montaner to do a concert and they earned a Guinness World Records as becoming the first singers to perform 3 concerts in 3 different cities (Mayagüez, Ponce and San Juan) – all in the same day. This could be done, using air transportation by helicopter. It was called: El Suceso (The Event).
In 1995, Yolandita released the self-titled Yolandita, along with another change in image with long hair and a belly ring. Right after, Monge relocated to Colombia to act in telenovela alongside Puerto Rican actor Osvaldo Ríos. Yolandita was honored in 1996 by the Puerto Rican Senate for her long career as a singer and actress. She also earned two of the most prestigious awards of the Latin music industry, Premios Lo Nuestro and Premios Tu Música. Also in 1996, she participated in the annual music video special, produced by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, dedicated to Pedro Flores, which usually includes only the most important and international singers the island has to offer.
In 1997, Yolandita released Mi Encuentro, which included bomba and plena, a Puerto Rican rhythm. The album was a hit and cemented the singer's ability to tacke any kind of music. The singer returned with another change of image and to her signature strong ballads with the album Siento in early 1999. The album was certified gold and included the hits "Dime", "Arriesgaré la Piel" and "Mala Sangre".
2000–present
In late 2000, Yolandita released her second live album Yolandita En Vivo recorded at Centro de Bellas Artes of Puerto Rico. It included many of her early hits and the duet "Sobrevivire" with her second daughter Paola González.
Yolandita took some time off and returned with Sexto Sentido in 2002, which included a collaboration with her eldest daughter and singer Noelia. This album was produced by Colombian producer Kike Santander and was certified gold. After that, the singer took a lengthy hiatus from recording to pursue other acting opportunities.
In 2004 she conducted her TV show for Telemundo called De Mujeres (Of Women). In this variety show she performed comedy skits and interviewed both local and international stars. She also sang with Julieta Venegas, Luis Fonsi, Lucecita Benítez, Víctor Manuelle, Chucho Avellanet, Gilberto Santa Rosa, La India, Gisselle, Lissette, Tito Nieves, Dagmar, Andy Montañez, Danny Rivera, and many more. These performances were once-in-a-lifetime duets that graced Puerto Rico's silver screen and kept the captive audience that followed the show wanting more.
After five years of not releasing a new album, Monge released on June 5, 2007, her album Demasiado Fuerte. It debuted number one in Billboard Latin Pop Albums making her return to music one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in the Latin Market. The album was produced by José Luis Pagán and Jorge Luis Piloto. Also, the album included the hits "Y Todavia" and the title track, "Demasiado Fuerte", both of which were remixed in reggaeton style and became hits in the urban radio stations in Puerto Rico and the Latin communities in United States. In November 2007, Yolandita returned to Centro de Bellas Artes with five sold-out concerts in support of the Demasiado Fuerte album. The singer received the best reviews of her career with those performances, which included duets with guest Glenn Monroig.
On October 6, 2008, Monge debuted the single "Mala". Immediately, on November 22, 2008, Yolandita released the album Mala, produced once again by José Luis Pagán and following the same musical and lyrical style as her previous Demasiado Fuerte. This album contains the song "Oportunidad Perdida" featuring Víctor Manuelle, which was re-recorded with Anthony Ríos in bachata style. Also, the song "Mala" was remixed in reggaeton style featuring Ivy Queen and in salsa style featuring La India. The song "Una y Otra Vez" was remixed in reggaeton style featuring Divino.
After the success of those radio remixes, Yolandita recorded a remix single with reggaeton artist Tito el Bambino called "El Amor", which used her same-titled smash hit from the 80s to his version. The song made it to the No. 1 spot in the Hot Latin Songs Billboard Chart.